Glee executive producer Ryan Murphy told TVLine last weekend that Michele had been “a rock” for the show’s cast and crew in the days following Monteith’s death from a mixed drug toxicity that involved heroin and alcohol. Murphy added that “no decisions” about the show’s future were being made without consulting the actress.

“We laid out every possible option. And she was very adamant that she thought it was best for the cast and crew to get back together sooner [rather] than later so that mortgages could be paid and people could take care of their families,” Murphy explained. “Cory was so beloved that she felt people really needed to be together in this time. So we sort of followed her lead.”

In light of Monteith’s passing, Glee‘s fifth season has been pushed back a week, from Sept. 19 to Sept. 26 — following a decision by Fox and 20th Century Fox Television to delay the start of production until early August.

The Glee cast and crew came together on Thursday for an “emotional celebration” of Monteith’s life.

Plans call for Monteith’s character — football quarterback-turned-show choir MVP Finn Hudson — to die early in Season 5, which will be dealt with in a special Finn “tribute episode.” The season’s first two installments — which will focus on the music of The Beatles — were written in May, and will be filmed back-to-back followed by the Finn tribute, before the Glee writing team takes a hiatus to map out where the show will head in the wake of that sad development